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Opinion column
by Murrel Bland
I have some good friends who moved from Kansas City, Kansas, to Houston a few years ago. They wanted to be closer to their family. They like Texas, but didn’t expect to be without electricity for four days. They survived in better shape than some of the natives of the Republic of Texas during the recent cold snap.
Being without electricity isn’t fun for anyone. I recently lost electricity for about two hours. That was inconvenient, but nothing like what Texans suffered. I am glad that the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities was in good shape to deal with severe cold weather.
The BPU is part of the Southwest Power Pool, a consortium of utilities in some 14 states that offers a supporting grid during an emergency such as the one suffered last month. Each member utility reduced its power output with selected shutdowns such as the one I experienced with BPU. This was the first time that the Power Pool conducted such an extensive operation—called Level Three.
Texas is not part of the Southwest Power Pool. In typical Texas style, it has its own grid — but that proved ineffective. The problem was not an excessive turn to green energy. Despite warnings from experts, Texas was not prepared for such an emergency. Extreme cold weather caused equipment to malfunction. Now, an independent agency has said the grid has overcharged utilities an estimated $16 billion. The largest power cooperative in Texas has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing high invoices from the grid.
The Kansas Legislature is providing $100 million in low-interest loans to help cities that would risk losing their electricity if bills were not paid.
Here in Kansas City, Kansas, the BPU will not disconnect utility service for non-payment for those facing hardship, through March 31, because of the coronavirus pandemic. BPU reminded customers to take advantage of the Kansas Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. The telephone number for LIEAP is 1-800-432-0043.
Murrel Bland is former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.